"Behold, my servant shall deal wisely, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and
shall be very high..."
This week is acknowledged by churches across the
world as the week of the suffering, the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. He entered
Jerusalem in all humility and meekness. The crowds who cried Hosanna cried for
his blood soon afterwards. We cannot depend and place our trust in human beings who that
are so fickle; one day like this and the next day, the opposite.
Our Lord entered on a donkey as a servant, not
in pomp as a king would do it, but in all humility. Behold, my servant
our text declares.
We should treat this week as very special and
draw near to the Crucified One.
We need to understand afresh why Jesus was made a
curse for us and why our iniquity was laid upon Him.
He was cursed for you because of the very sins
that you cling to and love. He bore the punishment for those very sins. He came as a
servant for you. If this would dawn on you and God reveals it to you, you would
immediately repent and part from those pet sins. It would be the finishing off of sin
because of the power of the death of the Servant.
Just ponder upon the truth that He was crucified
for you and me. May you see the Lamb of God who was slain for us.
Then your life is permanently changed and you never go back in the same way.
Most forget the Lord's passion this week and
carry on with their own desires. A police officer told me recently that Easter is their
worst time because people get drunk, fight and many crimes are committed. But to the one
who has a glimse of the Servant, He is precious and beautiful, and saves from sin.
The Palm branches, laid out for Jesus entering
Jerusalem on a donkey, symbolizes peace and joy - multiplied joy. There is peace and joy
with regards to God and our fellow man.There is no jealousy, fighting or disputes, but real peace, joy and pure love. The person who says
he has peace with God and does not have peace with his fellow brethren in Christ, is a
liar. His children will be the first to reveal his the lie he lives.
Jesus said we must forgive one another
as He forgave us. Even in death, Christ forgave His enemies.
You cannot be a believer and have a root of
bitterness in your heart against a fellow Christian. If you nurse grudges and bitterness
you will waste years of your life, and if you continue in that evil way instead of
repenting of it, you will one day be rejected at the Judgement seat of Christ. The Blood
of Jesus, applied to the bitter heart, sets free and revolutionizes the life.
How can you ask God to forgive your sin when you
continue to gossip about your brother? Perhaps a fellow Christian borrowed a small amount
of money from you and forgot to repay. You hold a grudge against him, and even slander
him, and you refuse to forgive such a small trespass. Yet your debt with God is so big
that you can that you can never repay. If you do not forgive your brother neither will God
forgive your trespasses. Christ taught us forgive us our trespasses as we
forgive those who trespass against us"
The religious leaders should have loved Him, yet
they spat upon Him and despised Him. It is the king of devils, Beelzebub, who
rules such hearts. They despised Him as a carpenter from Nazareth. If you turn away from
Him, you have exactly the same spirit as these religious leaders who demanded His
crucifixion.
They couldn't see anything good in Him and saw
nothing attractive in Him. When He reveals His way to you and you reject Him, there must
be something radically wrong in your heart and life.
The Lord promised that their rejection of Him
will extend to the salvation of the Gentiles. Are you a Gentile who has the same
spirit of those who hated Christ and just wanted His death?
The same lowly servant
who was despised shall be exalted
and lifted up, and shall be very high.
Many do not know the arm of the Lord
(as found in chapter 53 verse 1). They find: no form nor comeliness in Him - there is no
beauty in Jesus, to those who hate Him. But to those who love Him, who have
experienced the arm of the Lord, He is the most beautiful One
to behold.